Confessions of An Islamophobe—Robert Spencer

Is the threat of terrorism from the Islamic world a clear and present danger? Is there a way to broach this uncomfortable topic in a balanced and charitable way? Is it Islamophobic to even pose these questions?

Robert Spencer

Author and founder of Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer has been writing and speaking about the foundational documents of Islam, the Qur’an, and the Hadith, for over 15 years. It doesn’t matter that his books, 17 in all so far, carefully distinguish between Muslims who do not follow the literal sense of the Qu’ran and those who do. He still gets repeatedly branded as a hate-monger and, the shame label du jour, “Islamophobe.”

Spencer has finally embraced that label, with key caveats, in the title of his new book, Confessions of An Islamophobe, which is part memoir, and part catalogue of real-world applications of Islamic texts and traditions. There are few topics that are subject to more confusion and fuzzy thinking than Islam’s relationship to modern liberal democracies, the explicit teachings of its holy books, and the relationship between Christianity and Islam.

For his troubles in writing about jihad-inspired attacks throughout the UK, Spencer is still banned in the UK (by then-Home Secretary now Prime Minister Theresa May) and remains a persona non grata in many circles. One word very rarely used against him is wrong. (I believe he did make one error of fact in our interview, although of the benign variety, in saying that Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christians are increasing in number.)

There is an Advent tie-in here, straight from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s 1951 classic The World’s First Love. The chapter, “Mary and the Moslems,” is worth the book price. Prophetic insights into how our Lady of Fatima has a role to play in the conversion of Muslims to Christ. In his latest book, Spencer meticulously outlines the various groups who are under special threat today by the Sharia-minded ethos, from women and homosexuals to Jews and Christians.

Islam

There are few topics that are subject to more confusion and fuzzy thinking than Islam’s relationship to modern liberal democracies, the explicit teachings of its holy books, and the relationship between Christianity and Islam. For his troubles in writing about jihad-inspired attacks throughout the UK, Spencer is still banned in the UK (by then-Home Secretary now Prime Minister Theresa May) and remains a persona non grata in many circles.

One word very rarely used against him is wrong. (I believe he did make one error of fact in our interview, although of the benign variety, in saying that Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christians are increasing in number.)

There is an Advent tie-in here, straight from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s 1951 classic The World’s First Love. The chapter, “Mary and the Moslems,” is worth the book price. Prophetic insights into how our Lady of Fatima has a role to play in the conversion of Muslims to Christ.

In his latest book, Spencer meticulously outlines the various groups who are under special threat today by the Sharia-minded ethos, from women and homosexuals to Jews and Christians.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How to respond when people claim that the Catholic Church officially teaches that Islam is a religion of peace

The rationale the jihadis give for their violence

How the far Left and militant Islam are strange bedfellows

How to talk about Islamic-inspired evil while respecting and speaking with ordinary Muslims who also abhor that evil

Why the West needs a serious, loud, and urgent wake-up call to what’s coming next

The Patrick Coffin Show podcast features weekly interviews with A-list influencers and outliers in the effort to recover the Judeo-Christian roots of the culture. Patrick is the Canadian-born former host of "Catholic Answers Live," and he has raving fans around the world. He injects these fascinating interviews with his own distinctive blend of depth and levity. If you’re tired of politically correct mediaspeak, you want to see God back in the public square, and you’re not allergic to having a laugh, this is the place to be.

They are increasing slowly and without much attention, advisedly so, in a couple of other countries. This is not in proportion to the population but in absolute numbers in Egypt and Lebanon and probably in a couple of North African countries though figures are difficult to come by.
I would also add to Mr. Spencer’s comments on the nature of present day Islam. In large measure their attitudes are shaped by the fact that they have never had a full on reformation. The Jews had the Reform movement, Christianity had Trent (Wittenburg was a revolt) and Buddhism had a succession of evolutionary thinkers, presently personified by Robert Thurman, an American. As long as a majority in Islam adhere to 7th-17th century theology and approve of those who live it, criticism of the religion is both proper and necessary for Western survival.

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